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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsRecording Traffic Stop Lands Davie, Florida Woman In Jail
FT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) A Davie woman plans to sue the Broward Sheriffs Office after she was forced to spend the night in jail for using her cellphone to record a deputy during a traffic stop.
Last March, 33-year old Brandy Berning was pulled over by Lt. William OBrien after she reportedly drove in the HOV lane at the wrong time, according to The Sun-Sentinel.
As OBrien approached her vehicle, Berning hit the record button on her phone. She recorded about 15 seconds of the conversation before telling OBrien that he was being recorded. Thats when the deputy told her she had just committed a felony and demanded that she hand over her phone.
Berning refused.
Bernings phone recorded her arguing with OBrien for the next four minutes, he insisting that she was under arrest and must hand over her phone, she insisting that she didnt do anything wrong.
At one point OBrien reportedly reached into the vehicle and grabbed Bernings wrist, spraining it, according to the paper. Berning said OBrien got into her passenger seat and reached for her keys as he tried to force her from the car.
more...
http://miami.cbslocal.com/2014/02/20/recording-traffic-stop-lands-davie-woman-in-jail/
ForgoTheConsequence
(4,846 posts)Isn't that what they always tell us?
Bonx
(2,039 posts)"In Florida, both parties are required to know when a conversation is being recorded. Berning recorded about 15 seconds of her conversation with OBrien before informing him she was doing it.
However, it is legal for third parties to record a law enforcement officer performing their duties."
If a third party can record a law enforcement officer performing their duties, the person being accosted by the Officer should be accorded the same right.
unblock
(51,974 posts)davidn3600
(6,342 posts)"A citizen's right to film government officials, including law enforcement officers, in the discharge of their duties in a public space, is a vital, and well-established liberty of the first amendment."
-Glik vs Cunniffe
U.S. First Circuit Court of Appeals